


A Sliver of Pink Sky

by oorsprong, tclp



Series: The Sugar Season [3]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Ben and his sweet ass, Ben has terrible tastes in clothes, Christmas Fluff, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff and Smut, Holidays, Hux has a wedgie kink, Insecurity, Jealousy, M/M, Miscommunication, Showers, Sleepy Cuddles, Sleepy Kisses, ho ho HO, novelty christmas pyjamas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 17:08:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13104714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oorsprong/pseuds/oorsprong, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tclp/pseuds/tclp
Summary: Ten days to the Christmas holidays and feeling homesick, Hux tries to lose himself in Ben.  But he's not quite sure what it is he's missing.





	A Sliver of Pink Sky

**Author's Note:**

> We wanted to write something sweet for the holidays. The level of insecurity and neediness coming from these boys probably shouldn't have surprised us…

Hux diligently knocked his boots on the stone steps leading to Ben’s dorm, ridding himself of the sticky snow.

 

The semester was all but over and the unexpected snowstorm made Hux a bit homesick.  He took a moment to observe the light snowfall.  It was only 5 pm, but the sky was ink black.  He could see chubby snowflakes drift under the warm glow of a lamppost.

 

“Come on,” Ben said, tugging on his hand.  “My feet are soaked.”

 

“I could lend you a pair of boots.”  

 

Ben insisted on wearing his sneakers even in winter.  They’d had a pointless argument about whether wool socks and sneakers were “basically the same as” boots.  (They weren’t.)  

 

“Your feet are too narrow.  I should know, I’ve spent enough time kissing them.”

He thumped Hux soundly on the bottom, pushing him inside, and they hurried up the stairs.  By the time they reached the door to Ben’s room Hux was panting and shivering from the damp of melting snow on his clothes.

 

“Inside,” Ben instructed, giving Hux’s shoulder a quick squeeze.  He kicked off his shoes and left his damp socks in a pile by the door before rushing to his closet.

 

“You should take your wet clothes off.”

 

Hux unlaced his boots and carefully stepped away from the patches of melting snow left behind by Ben who’d tossed his wet shoes and socks around without a care.  He tried not to purse his lips too visibly; he didn’t always manage to catch his facial expressions in time.  Ben being careless didn’t bother him half as much as his mood turning sullen.  

 

_Too late._

 

With a sigh Ben came back over to pick up his wet shoes and dump them outside the door.

 

“Happy, Mom?”  He made a face at Hux.  “I’m gonna take a shower.”

 

Hux watched, chagrined, as Ben disappeared into the bathroom.  After a moment he poked his head out to ask, “So are you coming or…?”

 

Hux shivered again.  There was no refusing Ben’s hopeful look.  

 

He nodded sharply and made quick work of his clothes while Ben started the shower.  The water pressure was surprisingly adequate, but it always took a few minutes to get it warm enough.

 

Slipping into the cramped bathroom, Hux pressed himself against Ben’s back as he checked the temperature.  He ran his cold fingers along Ben’s ticklish stomach, gooseflesh rising under his touch.

 

“That’s cheating,” Ben said.  He was a little breathless just from it.

 

“I’m not above cheating.”  Hux kissed his shoulder, tightening his grip around Ben.  He rested his cheek on the spot he’d just kissed, lulled by the rhythm of Ben’s breathing and the steam filling the small room.

 

Ben made a soft sound of pleasure and gently disentangled himself so he could step into the shower stall. He pulled Hux in and the moment the fogged glass door closed behind them, Hux was drawn into a close embrace; Ben kissed his shoulders as they stood beneath the spray.  He worked his way slowly up Hux’s neck until he nuzzled the underside of his jaw.

 

“Mmm let’s just stay here all night.”

 

“Or until the water runs cold.”

 

Ben drew back with a level stare.  “No one would ever accuse you of being a romantic.”

 

Hux thought about their quiet walk across campus, about snowflakes briefly visible as they passed under the antique-imitation lampposts.  Ben skidding and sliding on the icy sidewalks while Hux tried not to laugh.  He didn’t contradict Ben.

 

“Let me wash your hair,” Hux said instead.

 

“Oh!  Really?  Okay!”  Ben almost dropped the body wash he’d reached for in his eagerness.  Instead he handed Hux a bright red bottle that shouted ‘BIG SEXY HAIR’ without a hint of embarrassment.

 

“This is the best for shine,” he said, leaning back into the spray and closing his eyes to get his hair thoroughly soaked.  He raised his arms and worked his fingers through wet hair, giving Hux an excellent view of the rest of his body.

 

Ben turned around, eyes still closed, and tipped his head back a little to give Hux the best angle.  

 

Hux took a slow breath.  There was something vulnerable about Ben in these moments when he forgot to be self-conscious.  

 

The noise of the bottle cap popping open seemed too loud, echoing against the tile wall.  Hux sneered at the bottle when it dared make a farting sound as he squeezed out a dollop of shampoo.

 

Ben didn’t seem to notice, his posture relaxed under the warm spray.  Hux lathered the shampoo in his hands and gently worked it into Ben’s hair, enjoying the feel of it beneath his fingers.  He massaged Ben’s scalp and neck, gratified by the way he softened and sighed.

 

“Rinse,” he instructed, turning Ben back around and guiding him under the spray.  His eyes widened at the sight of Ben’s half-hard penis.  Feeling sly he stepped forward to press their bodies flush together and lifted his arms again to help rinse the suds from Ben’s hair.  Ben’s arms slipped around him, one hand sliding down to cup his buttocks and push him in further until he felt a full erection against his groin.  An enveloping kiss followed, any thoughts of shampoo forgotten as he found himself trapped in Ben’s embrace and on the receiving end of his affection.

 

The cold had made Hux lethargic, his body  heavy as water and arousal warmed him.  It took him a moment to meet Ben’s level of enthusiasm.  

 

Ben’s fingers teased the cleft of his ass and Hux’s hips jerked forward, a wet slide of skin and flesh that made Hux suddenly dizzy..  He hooked his fingers behind Ben’s ears, guiding his head to deepen the kiss.  He sucked Ben’s tongue in time with the frustrating, too shallow swipe of Ben’s fingers against his rim.

 

Hux pulled back and panted, unable to catch his breath with the steam filling the room.  He only meant to take a moment before dragging Ben back for another kiss, but when he reached for him, Ben stepped back.

 

“Wait.  I need a moment.”

 

Hux wanted to ask “what for”, but nodded.  He felt a little unsteady without Ben’s body to lean against.  

 

Ben seemed to be similarly affected by the thick cloud of steam and burning water; he slumped against the tile.  His legs shook minutely.  

 

“Sorry.”  Ben put his head back under the spray and rubbed the last of the suds from his hair.  “I just…”  He trailed off and shook his head.  “Let’s warm up and get dressed.”

 

“Okay,” Hux said, fighting not to let his disappointment show.  He smiled when Ben wrapped him in a fluffy pink towel and steered him towards the bed, toweling his own hair off with the smaller hand towel.  Hux almost asked Ben why he wasn’t using a full sized towel and realized with a pang that Ben must have given him the only clean one.

 

Ben went back to the dresser in his closet and pulled on the corniest pair of pyjama pants Hux had ever laid eyes on; garish red fleece with “HO HO HO” printed up one leg in a big blocky font.  When Ben turned around he saw two candy canes crisscrossed over his butt.

 

“Where did you get those, for goodness’ sake?”  Despite the earlier incident with the wet shoes, Hux couldn’t help the appalled tone of his voice.

 

“‘Goodness’ sake’,” Ben mimicked.  “Do you ever swear when you’re not watching soccer?”

 

“Shut up,” Hux said, hating that he could feel his cheeks flush.  He drew the towel tighter around himself.  “I’m not the one wearing novelty Christmas sweatpants proclaiming myself a sex fiend.”

 

“Sex fiend?” Ben burst into startled laughter and turned around to wiggle his bottom in Hux’s direction.

 

“Thought you liked my sweet ass.”

 

“It’s tacky.”

 

“It’s supposed to be.  It was a gag gift.  Besides, most people don’t get the joke.”  Ben crowded into Hux’s space, dropped a kiss to the corner of his mouth and looked altogether too smug to be trusted. “But you get it.  You’re so smart.”

 

Hux glared.  He honestly couldn’t tell if he was being mocked or not.

 

“Come on, Strawberry,” he whispered, using the pet name Hux loathed to admit he loved, “Let me into bed.  You need warming up.”

 

Hux stood frozen and unsure.  Mostly, he hoped Ben wouldn’t fluster him further by commenting on Hux still being visibly aroused from their shower.

 

“Did I… say something wrong?”  Ben sat back, giving Hux his space.Hux noticed that he shivered in the chill air with his damp hair hanging in his face.  “I’m sorry I tease you so much.”

 

He didn’t want to get drawn into this conversation by Ben, overly earnest as he sat on the edge of the bed with all his attention focused on Hux.   

 

But the comment about his intelligence... It rankled.  Hit too close to something he’d been eager to forget by spending the night in Ben’s dorm.  And now it seemed like Ben didn’t want to have sex either.

 

Hux didn’t want to think about his midterm grades: lower than expected.  Or the stress of making up for it during finals.  There was no way to say he’d been spending less time on his studies without making it sound like he was blaming Ben.

 

He _didn’t_ blame him.  

 

His mother had praised him for his hard work.  She’d said something about the difficulty of moving away, the gap between Highschool and University workloads.  It had been sweet, but ultimately empty.  It hadn’t changed the results, and Hux knew he should’ve been able to do better.  Should _be_ better.

 

“It’s fine,” Hux said.  

 

Ben sighed and looked away, idly ripping at the pilling fleece of his pants.

 

“You—. I was thinking about the finals,” Hux said, trying to give the appearance of sincerity if nothing else.

 

“You worry too much,” Ben said.  He tugged the towel away from Hux and wrapped him securely in a blanket, pulling him into his lap.  “Strawberry burrito,” he whispered in Hux’s ear, holding him close.  “I’m supposed to be taking your mind off things.  What would make you feel good?”

 

Hux knew full well what worked best, but Ben had put a stop to it in the shower.

 

“Sit back,” Hux said and guided Ben until he was sitting with his back to the headboard before settling himself on Ben’s lap.  More than being wrapped up in the heavy blanket, having Ben at his back always made him feel good, secure.  Like time had been suspended for the two of them.  

 

Which was probably why his grades had plummeted.  But no, he refused to think about that again tonight.

 

Ben draped the blanket over them and handed Hux his laptop.  “We should find you some funny pyjamas, too.”

 

“What’s wrong with with my flannel pyjamas?”

 

“Everything,” Ben quipped, but he kissed the top of Hux’s head as he typed in a website address.

 

Hux recoiled as the page loaded.  A man leered from the screen.  He was  wearing boxer shorts with bells all over them and “ring my bells” written in cursive across the waistband.

 

“That’s obscene.”

 

“It’s just dumb funny underwear for men and women,” Ben murmured into his hair.  “Look, they have thongs with Santa hats over your junk.”

 

“Ben!”

 

“Oh my god, you are so uptight.”  Ben clicked through a few pages and scrolled down to a few pairs of sleeker low cut briefs that said “naughty” or “nice” across the back.  The models were unquestionably well sculpted.  No mannequins for these.

 

“Definitely naughty,” Ben said, humming with approval as he clicked on on the image to enlarge it.  When Hux shifted he noticed with surprise that Ben was erect again.

 

The man modelling the “naughty” briefs was certainly acting the part.  With heavy-lidded eyes, his hand teased the waistband.  It shouldn’t be a big deal that Ben was reacting to half-naked men in very little clothing.

 

Hux just wished he didn’t have to witness it, that was all.

 

He shrugged Ben’s chin off his shoulder and slid forward.  He didn’t need Ben’s dick poking him in the back, thanks.

 

“Yes, he’s clearly dedicated to the part.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Ben asked, but he didn’t sound all that interested in the answer.  Hux felt Ben’s hands at his waist, trying to tug him back into place.  Hux pushed his hands away.

 

“He’s laying it on a little thick, don’t you think?  He looks like one of those failed actor types, getting by on his good looks.”  

 

“Hux…”

 

It was Ben’s tone that made him realize his voice had risen, tight and angry.

 

Ben tried to grab his waist again and Hux gave up the pretense.

 

“Enough.  I don’t need to feel you getting hard for some failed-actor-turned-model.”

 

He stood and moved off the bed, feeling foolish wearing nothing but a blanket.  

 

“Do you really think I’m sitting here with a boner for some underwear model?” Ben called after him.  “Are you serious?”

 

“Why not?  You didn’t seem want to keep going with me.”  As soon as the words were out Hux wished he hadn’t said them.  The look on Ben’s face turned from incredulity to genuine hurt.

 

“Oh my god are you kidding me right now?  You were sitting on my lap.  I want you.   _Badly_ .”  Ben threw up his arms for emphasis.  “If you told me you wanted to fuck in the shower I would have had you right there.  You never say what you want.  You always make _me_ say it.”

 

“That’s not true.”  The denial was out before he could think about it.  

 

Ben scoffed.  “We’ve been together for months, Hux.  I’m not your shitty exes. I—”  Ben paused, doubt flitting over his face.  He was always so quick to second-guess himself, even when he was right, and Hux had to admit — silently, to himself — that he was.  This once.  “I said I was sorry for teasing you.  I asked if something was wrong, but you just fed me that line about finals.  How am I supposed to—.”

 

“You’re right,” Hux said, eager to interrupt the building rant.

 

Ben’s shoulders sagged, the defensiveness leaving him like air from a balloon.  He looked lost, sitting in the middle of the crumpled sheets with the laptop forgotten at his side.

 

Hux wanted to touch him.  He just… never knew if it was the right way to settle an argument, or if he’d sensed Ben’s eagerness for touch from the start and was exploiting the knowledge.  It made him reluctant to initiate anything.

 

“Look, I know you’re shy.  I get it.  I love that about you.  But sometimes when I start it’s like you just go along with it.  I was worried that maybe you weren’t into it… before.  When I stopped you didn’t say anything.  Remember a few days ago when you were totally into it and take charge?  That was the best.  I just don’t want to pressure you into anything you aren’t one hundred percent on board with.”

 

“Oh.”  Well that just figured; they’d both tried not to push the other.  “Sometimes I am going along with what you want.  You have more experience, it seemed logical that you should take the lead,” Hux said, trying to make it sound matter of fact and not like he was out of his depth.  Sex wasn’t really something he could plan for.

 

“I like you so much,” Ben said, running his fingers through his hair and looking everywhere but into Hux’s eyes.  “I think about you all the time.  The last time you stayed over I had to keep myself from waking you up in the middle of the night just so I could kiss you.  You were right next to me and I _missed_ you.  So yeah, I’m always ready and I always want you.  I just want you to feel that way about me sometimes too.”

 

“I do, that’s why I never know what to say when you ask me what I want, what feels good.  Everything we’ve done so far.  It all feels good.   _You_ feel good.”  Hux could tell he was babbling, but he didn’t have a way with words, not when it was time to talk about himself.  He didn’t see the point in telling people what he wanted, he was better served by working to get it for himself.  But he didn’t want to treat Ben like an objective, something to achieve before moving, reaching higher, and it left him in this frustrating limbo.  Both of them stuck in a dissatisfying inertia.

 

“I’m no good with words,” Hux said.  It wasn’t much of an admission, Ben already knew.  

 

“No, that was good,” Ben looked dumbstruck.  

 

Hux remembered that Ben was about as adept at taking compliments as he was.  Which was to say terrible at it.

 

“Um.” Ben licked his lips. “Anything in particular?  Feel good, I mean?”

 

They were saying “good” way too much.  Hux could feel himself getting irrationally angry with the word.

 

Hux wished he wasn’t naked under a blanket for this conversation.  

 

“Wedgies.”  He ground out, thinking it’d be easier to tell Ben about something he already knew.  “And I liked what we were doing earlier.  How you touched me in the shower. Sitting in your lap. ”

 

Surely that would be enough.

 

The grin on Ben’s face would have made him blush had he not already been thoroughly embarrassed by what he’d just said.

 

“Well then I’m going to have to buy you some novelty underwear, aren’t I?  You’re gonna get a box for Christmas.  Endless wedgies.”  Ben burst into laughter and leaned back on the bed.

 

“Come back here, my lap’s getting cold.”

 

“Oh?  Do you still want me in your bed if you can’t make fun of me? Or should I put on my briefs first?”

 

“Is that what you want?” Ben said, the challenge clear.

 

Right, then.

 

“No.  Grab the headboard,” Hux said, remembering Ben’s comment about Hux taking charge.

 

“Hell yes, Strawberry.”

 

Ben sat back, making himself comfortable.  His arms came up to grab the headboard behind his head.  Hux had a pretty view of his body, taut and eager.

 

Tossing aside the blanket, he climbed onto Ben’s lap, facing him this time, and drew down the tacky pyjamas.  He left them high on Ben’s thighs, the waistband constricting Ben’s movements.

 

“Really?”

 

“You asked for this,” Hux reminded him.  Still, he wanted to make sure. “You’ll tell me if you don’t like something, right?”

 

“Oh, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”  Ben fixed his dark eyes on Hux, wide and eager.

 

“I hope you don’t have any doubts that this is for you,” he said, glancing down at his erection and back at Hux, a self-conscious looking smile crossing his face. It made Hux a bit weak in the knees.

 

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe you just have a thing for ugly sleepwear,” Hux teased him, drawing a broader smile from Ben.

 

Forgetting his own growing erection for a moment, Hux laced his fingers in Ben’s soft, clean hair.  The strands felt silky and delicate.  So much of Ben felt that way once Hux had gotten close to him.

 

His fingers found Ben’s ears in a gentle caress.  Ben tried to duck his head to the side, but Hux held him in place for a kiss.  He’d meant to start slow, a few pecks, but Ben’s wet mouth reeled him in.  

 

“When you’re on, you’re really on.”  

 

“I—.”  Hux had been called intimidating before, but it didn’t sound like Ben was complaining. “I don’t know how else to be.”

 

“I love it,” Ben said as his intense gaze bore into him, drawing out admissions of his own.

 

“I love your hair.  And you ears.”

 

“Hux…” he swallowed.  “Let me get you ready?  Please?”  He angled his face to kiss behind Hux’s ears, whispering another plea.

 

Hux nodded and Ben dove to the side to grab the lube bottle, knocking things off his messy cooler turned bedside table.

 

Ben took his time warming the lube between his fingers before reaching around Hux to tease his rim. Hux could only hold on to Ben and as he waited he grew uncomfortably aware of his own breathing, fast and shallow.

 

He willed it to slow down.  Otherwise he wouldn’t last long enough for Ben to fuck him.  He’d made up his mind now, and wouldn’t settle for anything else.

 

Ben rubbed his entrance with a soothing thumb, gazing into Hux’s eyes in a way that made him feel like he should duck away, hide his face.  He forced himself to meet the heated stare.

 

“I like it when you ride me like this,” Ben confessed, breathless and visibly overcome.  “Makes me feel… close to you.  I don’t know, it’s stupid…” He bit his lips, but the words came tumbling out a second later. “  When you’re in my lap it makes me feel like a fortress surrounding you.”  He glanced away as he worked a finger in, confident enough about Hux’s body to give him the slow stretch he needed.

 

Hux was overwhelmed already.  The way Ben was looking at him, the realization that they both craved the same thing.  He’d felt it too.  Even sitting on Ben’s lap to look at that ridiculous website: the way Ben held onto him, possessive and protective in equal measures.

 

“Yes.  I know, yes.”  Hux leaned his forehead against Ben, then kissed the shell of his ear where it peeked out of his hair.

 

A spike of shame mixed in with the lust.  Ben was an open book, but Hux still doubted him.  Hux hated his need for constant reassurance.  It made his own flaws all too obvious.

 

By the time Ben positioned Hux over his cock and mouthed, _ready_ , Hux was desperate for it.  He took Ben halfway at the first slide and then swallowed him up with the second, moaning at the stretch.

 

“Oh god,” Ben whispered against his chest before slumping back against the headboard, glassy eyes fixed on Hux’s face.  The powerful hips beneath him gave a little thrust, no doubt to get Hux moving.  He dragged out the moment as long as he dared before lifting off his cock again and coming down slowly.

 

For several long minutes Hux worked himself with excruciating patience on Ben’s erection, making his boyfriend shiver and groan.  

 

“Hux, I can’t…”

 

Hux leaned in and kissed him, stealing the rest of his sentence. He teased Ben. Gave him just a taste of what he prefered: he bit Ben’s fat lower lip, light and quick, and chased the bite with a soothing swipe of his tongue.

 

“What’s the matter, Ben?”  But he didn’t let him answer before latching on the soft skin below his ear, worrying it with his teeth.

 

Ben’s head thumped back against the headboard and Hux flinched in sympathy.

 

“Sweetheart, you gotta slow down.”

 

“You won’t come, yet,” Hux assured him.

 

“Don’t—. Hnng.  Don’t be so sure.”

 

Hux tickled Ben’s stomach, distracting him as his other hand grabbed the base of his cock, squeezing tightly.

 

“Oh god where’d you learn that?”

 

“You do realize I have one of my own.”

 

Ben exhaled into a laugh and grabbed Hux’s waist, squeezing it and impelling him to go faster.  “You’re driving me crazy.”

 

“You asked me what I wanted.  Maybe I want my favorite thing about Ben Solo,”  He favored Ben with a little smirk, “how eager he is to take control.  Or do I have to tease it out of you?”

 

With a growl Ben tipped them over and Hux found himself breathless on his back, the comforting weight of his boyfriend securing him to the bed while eager hips pumped away atop him.  The ridiculous pants still held Ben’s thighs together and Hux reached down to push them away from his frantically thrusting ass so he could get a handful.  

 

Ben paused for a frustrating moment to fully kick away the pyjamas, now that Hux had shown it was fine to be rid of them.  Ben braced his knees on the mattress and used the leverage to deepen his thrusts.

 

“This what you want?  It is, isn’t it?” Ben said.  His smile was a little lust drunk and crooked.  

 

Hux’s fingers tangled in the delicate hair at the base of Ben’s neck.  He tugged him down for a kiss.  They were too far gone for coy games now.  But Hux could lick at Ben’s lips and teeth, feel Ben’s panting breath against his chin.

 

Ben adjusted his angle again and Hux mewled.  Legs and fingers clenched instinctively around Ben’s sides and bottom, bringing them closer.

 

“Yes, yes.  There, that’s—Yes,” Hux said, babbling.  

 

Ben kept angling his hips as best he could. Hux closed his eyes, surrendering himself to the ride.  The hot pressure of Ben’s touch, his fervor, the way he buried his face in Hux’s neck as he came with a strangled cry…  too much, too much—. Hux dug his fingers into Ben’s ass hard enough to bruise when his own orgasm followed.  

 

“Mmmm finally the right angle,” Ben panted in response to Hux’s little gasp of pleasure.

 

Hux's brain was too scrambled for a proper response.  He let the back of his hand thump against Ben's shoulder.   _Braggart_ , he thought fondly.  

 

As if he'd heard, Ben fucked him with his softening cock.  Three, four sloppy thrusts and obscene sounds that made Hux long for another go, electricity dancing down his spine.

 

Even as Ben disentangled them he pulled Hux in close and tight.

 

Hux let him do the heavy lifting.  His limbs shook at the slightest effort.  He’s been teased and left hanging too many times tonight.  His orgasm, when it finally came, had drained him.

 

“Mhm,” Hux mumbled against Ben’s shoulder, secure in his hold.

 

He reached a hand up to pet Ben’s hair, caressing the shell of his ear and feeling absurdly fond of every inch of him.

 

“You know,” Ben said, touching his face in return, “I’m never making fun of your wedgie kink.  I love it.”

 

Hux hid his face in Ben’s chest, listened to the rumble of his laugh.

 

“No, Sweetheart, I promise.  I love how hot you get for it.  Love tugging your briefs against that tight little hole.  I’ve never met a guy who liked that.  If anyone else ever tried to do that to you I’d kick his ass.”

 

“This isn’t elementary school.  I’m not getting shoved into lockers for my lunch money.”  Hux knew what Ben was really saying, though the cruel comments came with unnerved ease.  He didn’t want anyone else going near Ben either.  

 

“Hux,” Ben said. His voice was thick.  Hux didn’t want to look at him, worried he’d disappointed his boyfriend so soon.  

 

The words had already been on the tip of his tongue and the need to prove himself made it easier to say.  He pulled back to look Ben in the eyes.

 

“No one else knows.  No one else will ever know.  If it’s up to me.”  Ben tried to kiss him, but Hux needed to get it all out now, didn’t want to circle back to this later.  Ben stilled when Hux placed a hand on his shoulder. “Because you’re the one who makes me feel like I could come just from that.  Makes me feel… safe.”

 

“I love you,” Ben blurted out.  This time Hux let himself be pulled into a gentle kiss, let himself be cradled in strong arms and adored, enjoying the feelings only Ben could stir in him.  They shared slow kisses until Hux’s eyes grew heavy and he snuggled in close for sleep.

 

* * *

 

Hux woke to a strange light.  

 

The curtains had been left ajar.  From where he was tucked under heavy blankets and Ben’s heavier arm, Hux could see a portion of purple-pink sky.  

 

Hux didn’t turn around to look at Ben’s alarm clock; he knew it must be early hours of the night.  He could feel it in the stillness of the world around him, the way even Ben’s breathing seemed muted.

 

Tugging on Ben’s arm, Hux rearranged them until he settled on his back, Ben’s head tucked under his chin and the length of their bodies pressed together.

 

“Mm?”

 

“Sleep, Darling,” Hux whispered.

 

Ben had already relaxed into sleep.  His back rising at a slow, measured pace under Hux’s hand.

 

Ten days and he’d be back home.  

 

He’d missed his mother.  Rae and Millie, too.  Though less than anticipated.

 

He carded his fingers through Ben’s hair, eyes never leaving the sliver of pink sky.  Snow drifted pass, clearly visible in the eerie winter light.

 

Consciousness thawed into sleep.


End file.
